[11 “Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know and witness of what we have seen, and you all do not receive our witness.]
Jesus is talking to Nicodemus - who snuck out at night to meet w this radical rabbi. We know what We’re talking about, Jesus says. What We’re telling you, We’ve seen it. So We have FIRST-HAND knowledge - OF THE TRUTH. Of course, Jesus is using the royal "we" - He is in fact referring to Himself. Jesus’ words are true - all of them. AND you (pl) don’t believe Us, He says. You all don’t receive Our witness. He doesn’t say, BUT you don’t receive it. As if it were more like a surprise. He says, We’re giving you this true, first-hand knowledge AND you are not receiving it.
Jesus is not at all surprised that people do not receive His words. Jesus knows all men, as we’ve already seen [2.25][1.11]. Why was Nic (and others?) not receiving? [consider the false values/priorities that people have in the physical realm as opposed to spiritual truth]
MATERIALISM: Truth <——> Matter (Physical)
EMPIRICISM: Truth <——> Experience (5 senses)
RATIONALISM: Truth <——> Reason (Logic)
i.e. How many people roll is that, if I can’t see it or touch it or prove it, I refuse to believe it’s true. But there’s more…
[12 “If I told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?] WHAT's He saying? Remember, Nic is so focused on the external that he’s stuck in not accepting/trusting something he can’t fully explain or understand [which is why Jesus will mention the wind]. Some truths we can’t fully explain; we can’t prove them scientifically [i.e. my dad loves me can't be proven scientifically]. One commentator: [“Revelation, not discovery, is the basis for faith.”] The deep profound truths of eternity, of Almighty God and the Word Who Was - are way beyond the ability of our fallen minds to comprehend. [Rom. 11:33-34 Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways! For WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD, OR WHO BECAME HIS COUNSELOR?][1Cor. 2:13-14 which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words. But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.] Truth is grounded in revelation. This needs to be our prayer: [Ps. 119:18 Open my eyes, that I may behold wonderful things from Your law.] The beginning of understanding the truths of God, and then any progress we might make in ascending to greater heights of understanding heavenly truth, is a work of God. It is a spiritual journey, one which begins with a spiritual birth (or before?). Regeneration. First light. It begins w a knowledge of Him [Prov 9.10]. [but visibility or lack thereof does in no way make the spiritual realm true][Mt 6.25-33]
[13 “No one has ascended into heaven, but He who descended from heaven: the Son of Man.]
In other words, it’s not like any human has ever been able to just go up to heaven and acquire heavenly knowledge themselves. The Great Exception to this, of course, is Jesus. He has first-hand knowledge of heaven, of eternal truth, because He’s actually from there. He came to us from there. If you want to learn about a distant place [like Wuhan, or Iran, or Timbuktu], and you can’t go there in person, your best bet is to learn from someone who comes from there. First-hand knowledge. And Jesus has the first-hand knowledge we need about spiritual truth, about heaven and eternal life. So He clearly is the best and in fact ONLY One to look to if you want to learn and understand these eternal truths. He’s the Key. He’s the Door. He’s the Way. We gotta go thru Him. That’s what He says next:
[14 “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; 15 so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life.]
We go thru Jesus not only to gain understanding - we go thru Him for eternal life, period. Whoever believes IN Him, He says. [John Paton, missionary to New Hebrides, searched the local language to find a satisfactory word for believe IN. One day after a hunt he fell exhausted into a lawn chair outside his tent. One of the natives observed, “It’s good to stretch yourself out and rest when you’re tired.” Immediately Payton seized on the words “stretch out and rest” and translated the New Testament word for “believe in” in that way. Whoever stretches out and rests in Jesus will have eternal life.]
Jesus references an historical event here [Moses/serpent - Num 21.8-9] God thru Moses gave His people a picture of trust. Just like the Israelites needed to “stretch out and rest” in that bronze serpent for physical healing, now all people will see the Son of Man lifted up on a pole, and whoever stretches out and rests in Him, in Jesus, in His death on that pole to pay the penalty for our sin, will have eternal life. ***[Life then becomes all about lifting up Jesus…][Paton*]
[John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.] Jesus is not saying that God loved the world [SO MUCH] that He gave His Son (altho that is certainly a true picture). The word for “so” here is “thus”. “In this way”. He’s saying “thus”, this is HOW God loved the world. The whole world - not just the Jews. Not just religious people, or smart people, or pretty people, or wealthy people. Everybody. Whoever. You know how God loved you? By giving His only Son - to die FOR YOU. Lifted up on a [pole]. And killed, executed, to pay the penalty for your sin. Arms stretched out, yes saying this IS how much I love you. God gave His one and only Son, so that whoever believes IN Him, every person who stretches out and rests in Him, will not perish, but may have eternal life. [Nobody else would do that for the world. I certainly wouldn't give my son for a bunch of strangers or enemies]
"Having eternal life" in the Greek is present subjunctive. Meaning, it’s possible, but not certain for everyone. You Might have eternal life. Or you might not. It’s conditional - IF you believe. So, do you? But "perishing" is aorist subjunctive. It is far more certain. The word for “perish” here means to be destroyed. In other words, destruction is certain for every person. If you don’t believe, you will perish. Jesus now explains:
[17 “For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. 18 “He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.] That’s the point. This is what God is doing in His Son, the God•send. Jesus did NOT come to judge. He came to save. This is a mind-blowing truth - no pagan deities or idols EVER make a personal sacrifice on behalf of a human. But God sacrificed His Son - to rescue every person from judgment. Because every person is already judged. The verdict is already in. We are guilty. Guilty of sin. Guilty of choosing what we want over what God wants. Putting something else in God’s rightful place in our hearts. And the only way to avoid the certain penalty for this is by believing in the Name of God’s only Son. Jesus. He came to save us. To rescue us from this condemnation. We no longer have to pay the death penalty for our sin.
Judgment is a hard truth for our culture to accept. “Judge not”, people insist, right? But… it’s too late. Judgment is real. What Jesus is saying is, the world was already judged long before He came. The world was already under the sentence of death. Condemned [Rom 5.16-18]. Which is precisely why Jesus came - to make a way OUT from under that judgment. NO MORE condemnation.
And so the possibility of rescue is a matter of belief. WILL you believe? Will you (& I ) trust in the truth about Jesus, this One Who has first-hand knowledge. Will we stretch out and rest in Him? It’s not my job to make anyone else believe. I can share the truth with them, of course, but every person has to decide for themselves. Jesus says, in no uncertain terms, if you believe IN Me, stretch out and rest IN ME, then you are fully pardoned. No judgment. No condemnation any longer [Rom 8.1] Not because of anything you’ve done - only because of what He did. That’s the Good News! Eternal life - by believing in Jesus. The One God gave for us. The God•send.
Referenced verses:
Rom. 5:16 The gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned; for on the one hand athe judgment arose from one transgression 1resulting in condemnation, but on the other hand the free gift arose from many transgressions 2resulting in justification. 17 For if by the transgression of the one, death reigned athrough the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will breign in life through the One, Jesus Christ. 18 So then as through aone transgression 1there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one bact of righteousness 2there resulted cjustification of life to all men.
Prov. 9:10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
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